a) Field of the Invention
The present invention belongs to the field of water treatment, and more particularly concerns an apparatus for receiving rain water from a water collecting means and treating this water according to a treatment cycle.
b) Brief Description of Prior Art
Rain water is an inexhaustible source of drinking water. However, when it reaches the ground, it becomes contaminated by a large quantity of polluting agents. It therefore becomes necessary to treat this water with a multitude of techniques and apparatus, using a variety of chemical substances to eliminate each of the polluting agents present. It can thus be highly advantageous to collect rain water directly as it falls down, since at this stage it requires only basic treatments such as the addition of disinfecting and mineralising solutions.
An apparatus to treat rain water is disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,317,733 (XHONNEUX). This patent concerns an apparatus to make water drinkable, especially rain water. The apparatus is easy to set up, for example on a house roof, and is operable without necessitating special technical skills. It operates completely mechanically, and does not require any external source of power, electrical or otherwise. On the other hand, in this patent, the mixing of the non-treated water with the sterilizing products is controlled through a complex relationship by the water flow rate and the size of the water compartments, making the efficiency of the apparatus dependent on the precise adjustment of its various components. There is therefore a need for a simpler mechanical apparatus to collect and treat rain water.